Interesting news. http://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/Coun...MC-Hull-City/story-26233031-detail/story.html HULL City Council is believed to have been invited to take over the running of the KC Stadium's operating company. Details of the offer made on behalf of Hull City owner Assem Allam, who also heads the Stadium Management Company (SMC), by his son Ehab have not been made public. However, it is thought the offer follows media interviews conducted by Mr Allam last week in which he said he was prepared to hand over the SMC to the council for just £1. Those comments came after it emerged that a number of amateur sports clubs had been given notice to quit the Airco Arena by the SMC to allow the Walton Street venue to be converted into an academy facility for use by Hull City. In a statement, the council's chief executive Darryl Stephenson said: "We can confirm that the council has received a letter from Mr Ehab Allam and we have responded. However, until we gain an understanding of the full financial implications, we are not in a position to make a proper assessment and an informed decision. "We are engaged in dialogue on the matter, and will need full access to the SMC accounts, which has been agreed. "This process will take a number of weeks to work through so we are not in a position to make any further comment." A statement issued by Hull City said: "We can confirm that Ehab Allam and Darryl Stephenson have been in contact in recent days and that the discussions have been positive. "The owners of the football clubs have always enjoyed a good relationship with officers of the council such as Darryl Stephenson and regeneration manager Mark Jones." The SMC was originally set up when the stadium was constructed in 2002. Originally headed by current Hull FC owner Adam Pearson when he was in charge of Hull City, the company was given the responsibility of managing day-to-day business at the stadium, the indoor sports arena and the adjacent outdoor all-weather sports pitches under a 50-year lease. As such, the SMC's tenants include both Hull City and Hull FC. Under the lease, the company pays the council a peppercorn annual rent and is required to pay a share of any yearly profits if they reach a certain amount. Speaking last week, Mr Allam said he was prepared to offload the SMC, which he took over as part of his takeover deal for Hull City in 2011. He said: "I cannot carry on spending the money. Sports clubs in the community are the responsibility of the council, not the responsibility of one person. "I choose to take responsibility of the football club. You don't force me to look after the whole thing. "There are elected councillors for that, rates and taxes for that. "The council can have it [the SMC] for £1, have it for the community. The whole site was meant for the community but the SMC loses money every year. "The contract with the rugby club loses money for the SMC every year. The arena loses £250,000 every year but we have contracts and we accept them with a smile. We have never complained. I have been accepting this every year."
pay £1 and you can take over a company that loses £250k/annum - at least that's what the astute Allams lose by running it - I suspect the Council will run it better than our resident donkeys
the council couldn't run a bath. If the SMC loses money now you can bet your mortgage that those losses will triple under the council and nothing will get done properly.
I doubt that but would be nice to see sunday league cup finals etc being held there in a kind of used by the community as well kind of thing.
Of course the council could always get someone else to run it for them...................Adam Pearson?
AP won't touch it, it's a toxic company, it's already losing money and as the stadium maintenance costs increase, it will only get more toxic.
But wouldn't that bring a wave of angry eggchasers accusing Pearson of a conflict of interest? As they are currently accusing the Allams of and before that when he was Hull City owner, Adam Pearson?
I dont know why people have this idea. Whatever you think of elected councillors chosen by the people of Hull, there are undoubtedly some very capable officers.
Yeah ok, you've taken capable literally. Of course they should all be capable, I meant some of the senior officers will be very, very good in their field of expertise.
Thing that confuses me is Allam and all his followers proclaim him as a great businessman and shouldn't deal with the 'clowns' at HCC. But surely great businessman deal's people they don't like, agree with or get on with to gain a good deal?
Couldn't City Link have somebody capable running it? http://www.standard.co.uk/business/...-staff-after-christmas-collapse-10127050.html
Don't believe the hype, I have it on good authority that the SMC is more than capable of making money
Assuming the council or another non-hcafc party takes over the running of the SMC - what would that mean for Hull City's "peppercorn" rent? People regularly comment on how the SMC is losing money - and the rent that a premier league club is paying to the SMC is a pretty big elephant in the room. Is the rent agreement guaranteed in perpetuity, or could the loss of control of the SMC have consequences for the future?
